Coconut Rough

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title: "Coconut Rough" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["apra-award-winners", "new-zealand-new-wave-musical-groups", "musical-groups-established-in-1982", "1982-establishments-in-new-zealand", "1984-disestablishments-in-new-zealand", "musical-groups-disestablished-in-1984"] description: "New Zealand band" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_Rough" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary New Zealand band ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
name	Coconut Rough
origin	New Zealand
genre	Pop, new wave
years_active	1982–1984
label	Mushroom Records
associated_acts	Pop Mechanix, The Swingers, Midnight Oil
past_members	Andrew Snoid
Mark Bell
Dennis "Choc" Te Whare
Stuart Pearce
Paul Hewitt
Bones Hillman
::

| name = Coconut Rough | image = | caption = | alias = | origin = New Zealand | instrument = | genre = Pop, new wave | occupation = | years_active = 1982–1984 | label = Mushroom Records | associated_acts = Pop Mechanix, The Swingers, Midnight Oil | website = | current_members = | past_members = Andrew Snoid Mark Bell Dennis "Choc" Te Whare Stuart Pearce Paul Hewitt Bones Hillman Coconut Rough were a short-lived New Zealand pop/new wave band formed in 1982.

Despite their 1983 first single, "Sierra Leone", hitting the top five, and the band being named Most Promising Group of the Year at that year's RIANZ Awards they split up in 1984.

History

The band was formed in 1982 by lead singer Andrew Snoid, formerly with New Zealand bands the Whizz Kids, Pop Mechanix and Australian-based New Zealand group the Swingers, and guitarist Mark Bell. Bell later joined Snoid in a reformed Pop Mechanix. Other member were bassist Dennis "Choc" Te Whare, keyboardist Stuart Pearce and drummer Paul Hewitt, and later bassist Bones Hillman. They decided on the name "Coconut Rough" based on a type of sweet treat popular in Australia and New Zealand.

The band's biggest hit was also their first single. "Sierra Leone" reached number five in the 1983 New Zealand charts. The song was aided by one of the first New Zealand music videos with special effects. In 2001, Sierra Leone was voted the 94th-best New Zealand song of all time by members of APRA.

They were an opening act for The Police at their Western Springs concert in 1984, but had folded before the end of that year.

Discography

Albums

::data[format=table title="List of albums, with selected chart positions"] | Title | Extended play details | Peak chart positions | NZ | Whistle While You Work (with The Narcs) | Coconut Rough | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 17 | | | | | | | — | | | | | ::

Singles

::data[format=table title="List of singles, with selected chart positions"] | Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | NZ | AUS | "Sierra Leone" | "As Good As It Gets" | "Magic Hour" | "Leisure Time" | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1983 | 5 | 99 | Coconut Rough | | | | | | | | 28 | — | | | | | | | | | | 1984 | — | — | | | | | | | | | — | — | | | | | | | | | ::

Awards

::data[format=table]

Awards	Year	Category	Details	Result
RIANZ	1983	Single of the Year	"Sierra Leone"
Most Promising Group
Best Music Video	Greg Rood – "Sierra Leone"
::

References

References

1. "Sierra Leone". NZ On Screen.
2. [http://kiwirock.co.nz/category/kiwirock/ "Police file – The Police", kiwirock.co.nz]
3. "The Narcs at NZ Charts".
4. [https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Coconut+Rough&titel=Sierra+Leone&cat=s "Sierra Leone" charts.org.nz ]
5. [[David Kent (historian). Kent, David]]. ''Australian Chart Book 1970–1992''. St Ives, N.S.W. (1993). {{ISBN. 0-646-11917-6.
6. "NZMAs". nzmusicawards.co.nz.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::